Why oh why are we so fascinated with Tummo. Chod, dzogchen, wrathfully practices etc etc...everything that seems sexy.....when we won't spend time looking at our own mind.......noting, the negative emotions/thoughts as they arise.....Vajrayana without a teacher is worthless......

For those who have not had the good fortune to meet a teacher or spend time learning with a teacher then there are still plenty of things to work on...shamata, analytical contemplations etc, study and very importantly making aspirations....by doing so one can bring about the conditions necessary to work with a teacher....There is so much within Sutrayana and Mahayana which is so valuable but for many does not contain the wow factor that they think Vajrayana and Dzogchen contain.....

To highlight the amount of time and energy it takes to work with tea-lung-tigle :

Through these practices, greatqualities can arise, but also great faults will arise, and for that reason those practices are secretpractices. The practices of the winds, channels and drops are secret practices. In the sixpractices of Naropa, in the extensive version, one practices them for about thirteen years. Andthen if one practices, one can accomplish the siddhis within one lifetime, just like Milarepa did.In a mediocre case, one practices them for five or seven years. Or one can practice for threeyears. When one practices for three years, one gets an approximate understanding of how thepractice works.

Thanks everyone for your input.im in no hurry to practice tummo,i am just curious because one see's a lot of 'instructional' videos of tummo on youtube etc.It is not something i would haphazardly jump into.

eddie martin wrote: because one see's a lot of 'instructional' videos of tummo on youtube etc.

This is merely a sign of the degeneration age. You need a living teacher for this, and even when all the preliminaries are done, and one is practicing under the personal oversight of a qualified Vajra master, still many problems can arise-- this is a very difficult practice. I can only imagine practice done from online videos or books alone would equal disaster.

Contentment is the ultimate wealth;Detachment is the final happiness. ~Sri Saraha

Without Shamatha, I fail to see how you could even practice Tummo. So work on that first, assuming you havent already. If you have achieve quiescence, then you could start seeking a Tibetan Buddhist Guru and start whatever preliminaries they require before teaching you Tummo.

yah, actually in my ngondro text right in the beginning it is said that Lord Jigten Sumgon said that before the ngondro you do the four foundations that are the foundation for practice. and after that he says the foundational practices ( ngondro ) are even more important than the higher practices that you should definitely do before engaging in higher practices. and tummo is a completion stage practice so no hurry. as a layman if you only practice tummo enlightenment seems quite far away. better to follow the complete path as taught by past masters.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

You can get an idea, surely. But you really need to find a teacher and train under his or her instruction.

Your experience and wisdom say this dear Conebeckham. I went through Lama Yeshe's book several times, and many other resources, tried practicing. no success and realized I need a teacher to practice this which needs diligence, guru's blessings, instruction and high discipline with clear goal. This ;is my one of biggest goal to find teacher with whom my heart is connected. I tried here in Canberra, Australia. No success. My another destination is either Kathmandu or India...